Fiat / Cisitalia 36 DF Voloradente

The Fiat/Cisitalia 36 DF Voloradente was a small-series fastback coupé bodied by Carrozzeria Canta in Turin in 1958, using Fiat 1100/103 mechanical foundations. The design is credited to Aldo Brovarone. Its enclosed steel coachwork enclosed a compact 2+2 cabin beneath a low, sloping roof, with restrained ornamentation. Chassis 103E317237, fitted with engine 680689, survives with a documented history linking the Italian-built car to Argentina.

The 36 DF used a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine of approximately 1.1 litres, driving the rear wheels through a four-speed manual gearbox. Published specifications give an output of about 52 hp, a wheelbase of 2,340 mm and an overall length of approximately 4,100 mm. The quoted weight is around 780 kg, with a maximum speed of roughly 145 km/h. The body is described as steel, associated with a tubular steel structure. These are published specifications for the 36 DF type; they are not presented as measurements taken during an inspection of this particular survivor.

Production accounts differ. Research attached to the surviving car describes it as one of three or four examples built, while other descriptions give a total of three. No production register resolving those figures has been identified. The documented range is consequently three to four cars, and the existence of chassis 103E317237 alone does not establish how many of the others survive.

Argentine documentation records this chassis under Fiat identity in 1958, with registration C473244. The names Julio Guillermo Karpiuk and Roberto Jorge Santiso appear in its ownership chronology. Photographs dated 1977 still show Fiat badges. Following restoration in Argentina, the same car appeared at the Buenos Aires motor show in 1986 with Cisitalia badging. Its chassis number connects these successive presentations despite the change of marque emblems.

The red exterior and black seating recorded for the surviving car belong to its documented later appearance. The available account does not establish them as the original factory colours. Similarly, the later Cisitalia presentation does not erase its earlier Argentine registration as a Fiat. The 1977 photographs and the 1986 exhibition provide separate dated evidence for the change in badging during the car’s post-production history.